I have a list and i would like to be able to set permissions on items all at once or remove or add instead of going to each item and setting the permissions.
Also is there a possibility lets say of using a workflow so that when an item is being added to ask for a group to assign it to or dynamically set it to a group based on what the user entered in.

3 Answers
3

In SharePoint Designer workflow, there is an action called replace in impersonation step using which u can set item level permissions. I hope u can have a worflow started on item creation and assign permission using this action 'Replace'.

You can set permissions on the list so they will apply to all items within it. The only pre-requisite is to break role inheritance on the list.

But you cannot mix this with item level permissions as you mentioned. If you need item level permission for some items you could keep these items in sub folder or separate list. In case that does not work there is no elegant way to manage permissions for all item in the list. Also using item level permission can have a negative effect on performance.